I thought about putting this in the journal thread, but didn't want to de-rail it too badly, so here it is.
I fully realize I may come off as judgemental. That's fine. There are things I was raised to believe are private and things I was to believe are fit for public consumption.
I work in an office full of cubicles. It's not a plush, comfy office, and has very little "soft" to absorb sound. So now, I know my co-workers can HEAR my clacking keyboard.
One particular co-worker responds to his reading OUT LOUD. So it'll be quiet, then, "Interesting!" <silence> "Huh." <silence> "as-leh-kul" (as he tries to pronounce Arabic) <silence> "HAH. Serves you right."
And if you say, "What's interesting?" or "Who deserved it?" he says, "Wha? I didn't say anything!" and gets offended. Like you're eavesdropping. In a cube farm. With LOW WALLS.
My boss, with whom I share a cube wall, taps on her desk. taptaptaptaptaptaptaptap. For (I timed today) eight straight minutes.
The same co-worker who talks to no one also cuts his nails (fingers and toes!) at work. I asked him once if he'd be more comfortable doing that in the restroom. Nope. His chair is fine.
And every office has a smoker who hacks and coughs endlessly and always says, "I just can't seem to shake this cold," right? Every office I've worked in has. But the one down the row (a woman, which somehow makes it worse) does this horrible long snot-snort before she coughs. You know the kind--where your sinuses are really congested and when I feel that way, go into the bathroom and hope no one hears me because it's just that gross?
So, I will clack-clack-clack away (I have been asked if I could type quieter) and attempt to stifle my heel as it taptaptaps on the floor because I bounce my leg up and down pretty frequently.
Please tell me I'm not the only one who notices these things. The boyfriend says I should just not pay attention, but I find that an un-possible task.
Challenge Goals: *10 minutes of unplanned exercise five times a week *Gym time twice a week *Socialize at least once every two weeks.
I'm subbing today, and the student sitting next to me is grinding her teeth. At first I thought she was chewing hard candy, but she isn't she's grinding her teeth.
Her poor future co-workers. (Poor her future dental bills.)
Dawn
"Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion. You have to set yourself on fire." anonymous
Posts: 4286 | Location: Indianapolis, IN | Registered: March 15, 2004
I can't stay focused on my work if music is playing in another cube. A lot of what I do is technical editing of large and complex Govt. regulations and I can't maintain focus on all of the technical issues I'm checking for if words of a song are competing for my brain's attention. When things got particularly bad (back when I was working in the office every day), I would put on earphones and listen to classical music or jazz (with no lyrics) at low volume.
My coworkers know that I am not shy about asking people to turn down their music or to take their rowdy conversations down a notch, so I'm sure they are happier with me working at home 4 days a week, as am I!
Posts: 7256 | Location: Rehoboth Beach, DE | Registered: March 12, 2004
I have my own office but in the office next to mine I have a very loud mouthed woman whose every word, and guffaw, I can hear clearly through the wall. She is a bigwig so it's hard for me to complain. I have thought of earplugs.
Hee. No noise, other than keyboard clacking, talking, and periodic yells for push-ups. There's a TV in the area, but it's kept very, very low, except when a policy maker or world leader is speaking about things that directly impact the work...except on weekends, when it's on football, baseball, hockey, golf--whatever.
We aren't allowed to fiddle with the hardware...I've been on a request list for an optical mouse for MONTHS, because you can't bring one in and plug it in, you have to get one that's approved through the chain. All the ports in the backs/fronts of the computers are locked. Le sigh.
It doesn't seem to bother some people--and truthfully, most of the people here are not the kinds of people who are moved and touched by art, beauty, and things like that (the pictures in my Dali calendar causes people to stop, brow furrow, and ask, "What IS that?"), so when a few of us wish out loud for music, the overwhelming response is, "Why? It's just noise." And if you have to explain...well, they don't understand.
Oh, and guy who has the scratchy voice and tells bad jokes loudly three rows over? SHUT UP. It still isn't funny. It wasn't at 6:15, 7:30, or 8:20, either.
Edited to add: One co-worker DOES have earplugs, and I think it's genius. I just need to purchase some! And stop being freaked out when people walk up behind me and I don't hear them.
Challenge Goals: *10 minutes of unplanned exercise five times a week *Gym time twice a week *Socialize at least once every two weeks.
Originally posted by D in St Pete: I would absolutely bring music in if I could, but any kind of data storage, transmitting, or receiving device isn't allowed. So no MP3 players, iPods, radios, cell phones, walkmans...and there's no sound on this computer
Do you have no background noise (other than your annoying co-workers )? Is there any music that plays at all? That would drive me crazy.
Jill
Summer Challenge Goals: 1) Walk 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week 2) Plan weekly menus
I would absolutely bring music in if I could, but any kind of data storage, transmitting, or receiving device isn't allowed. So no MP3 players, iPods, radios, cell phones, walkmans...and there's no sound on this computer At home, I can play Sirius satellite radio through my computer w/ our Sirius account, but I can't even hear that at work! Bleh. Is it any wonder I sing inside my head a lot? Today? That funky little "New Soul" song, because it was the last thing I heard in the car.
I suppose at some point, one of my co-workers will get annoyed with my humming, so I'm going to try really hard not to let the music get outside my head
Challenge Goals: *10 minutes of unplanned exercise five times a week *Gym time twice a week *Socialize at least once every two weeks.
I bring music to work. I have a portable player and earphones, and listening to music while I type not only shuts off noise but also helps me focus on my work - provided I choose the right kind of music.
****************** “The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight because by then, your body and your fat are really good friends.”
Originally posted by D in St Pete: Please tell me I'm not the only one who notices these things. The boyfriend says I should just not pay attention, but I find that an un-possible task.
You are SO not the only one who notices these things.
I also work in a cube farm. Across/down the hall from me are two managers who have private offices (but whose doors remain open). One listens to her voice mail on speakerphone (volume turned way up, natch). The other has conversations with her staff--from her desk. Yes, she screams out to them in their cube--and they scream back (one person walking to the other's desk is SO last year). Several employees have asked to be moved from the cube right outside Rude Speakerphone Lady's office because of having to hear these loud (and sometimes personal) voice mails all day long. It has set empty now for a few years.
Oh, and then there are the two ladies on the other side of my cube wall who have regular parties with employees who visit them from other offices. One of them has a laugh that could wake the dead. And when they get to Really Rowdy Level, it can be heard for several cubes beyond mine. There is one chick who visits one of these women who I swear spends more time on our floor than on her own.
I have come to the conclusion that people either don't think about how their behavior may impact others, or they just plain don't CARE.
Posts: 7256 | Location: Rehoboth Beach, DE | Registered: March 12, 2004
)? Is there any music that plays at all? That would drive me crazy.
